First MLC detention in Denmark

The Liberia flagged offshore supply vessel Atlantic Carrier has for 24 hours been detained in Esbjerg. The Danish Maritime Authority discovered during a control Tuesday that the crew was without contracts. The detention is the first in Denmark as a result of breach of MLC requirements.

"It is satisfying to see that the MLC requirements are incorporated in the Danish authority’s port state control. The seafarers' employment is quite basic. The contract is a piece of paper that states under which conditions he or she is employed. Conditions such as wages, rights during sickness , etc must be included in the contract and if this is missing, no one can be aware of the terms, "says President of CO-Søfart, Ole Philipsen.

The seafarers' working and living conditions have with the entry of the MLC, Maritime Labour Convention on 20 August become part of a supervisory system.

Ole Philipsen has on several occasions emphasized the MLC requirements as a most important measure for seafarers since World War II. Conditions on board a ship have not previously been part of the inspectors' duties under the Port State Control.

The company behind Atlantic Carrier corrected the situation and the ship will continue to operate in the North Sea, where it operates in connection with the offshore wind farm DanTysk, which is currently under construction.